Cataract Canyon Rafting Trips

A Cataract Canyon rafting trip down the Colorado River is synonymous with adventure. Deep in the heart of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, the mighty Colorado flows through a red rock wonderland and over some of the most awesome cataracts (old-fashioned word for waterfalls!) in the American Southwest. Our oar-powered rafts carry you into the most remote, least-accessible parts of the park. Hike into side canyons with cascading streams or along rocky saddles with sweeping views or to ancient cultural sites. On this iconic river rafting trip, we are privileged to experience both ultimate tranquility and adrenaline-pumping whitewater.

The river moves quietly at first, inviting you to embrace “river time”. Slide past crimson-colored cliffs and orange table-top mesas. The word “Colorado” means “red”, this red, the red of the rocks and sand that surrounds you. It’s never been so easy to unplug and let go as in these calm waters above the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers.

Once beyond the confluence, however, the river does not rest. Nowhere on its entire course does the Colorado River descend more precipitously than through Cataract Canyon. The roar of the rapids will lull you to sleep and wake you up in the morning, inviting you to go for a ride. This is Colorado River whitewater rafting at its best. Run more than 30 big rapids, including Mile Long, Ben Hurt, and the granddaddy of them all, The Big Drop, where the river descends over 30 feet in less than three-quarters of a mile. Cataract Canyon rafting trips are the best natural water park in the West!

Green River, Utah: Things to Do and Places to Explore

Featured Review:

“Fantastic! We have done more than a few rafting trips with Holiday and are impressed with how consistently excellent our experiences have been. The guides are knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly! They go out of their way to make white water rafting a fun adventure!” (Scott and Stephanie Chamberlain)

Holiday is an authorized concessioner of Canyonlands National Park. Additionally, (& more importantly) southern Utah’s canyon country was home to Indigenous people and cultures long before our modern society existed. Out of respect for these people, Holiday wishes to acknowledge that Cataract Canyon and the stretches of the Green and Colorado Rivers that approach it are the traditional homelands of the Pueblos and the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) people. Read more about our land acknowledgments here.

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Trip Overview

Type:
Rafting
Location:
Colorado River - Canyonlands National Park
Length:
5 and 6 Days
Dates:
May–September
Meet at:
Green River, Utah @ 7:00 pm (night before the trip)
Difficulty:
Intermediate, Advanced
Min. Age:
8 (16 in May & June)
Deposit:
300

Highlights

Oar power lets us move in harmony with the river
Calm stretches perfect for inflatable kayaks & stand-up paddle boards
Great swimming opportunities; good blend of flat water and rapids
Float the remote reaches of Canyonlands National Park
Huge sandy beaches and red cliffs
Dramatic Colorado Plateau geology

Getting Here Before You Go Packing List FAQs

Rates & Dates

5 Day

Adult:
$1,285
Youth:
18 and under
$1,145
Senior:
65 and older
$1,145
Group:
10 or more
$1,145

Book This Trip
Check Availability

2022

May
2, 9, 16, 23, 30
June
6, 13, 20, 27
July
4

6 Day

Adult:
$1,360
Youth:
18 and under
$1,210
Senior:
65 and older
$1,210
Group:
10 or more
$1,210

Book This Trip
Check Availability

2022

July
10, 17, 24, 31
August
7, 14, 21, 28
September
4, 11, 18, 25

Itinerary

Cataract Canyon trips launch from the Potash boat ramp on the Colorado River just south of Moab, Utah. Float through 47 miles of unbelievable canyon scenery to the confluence with the Green River at the center of Canyonlands National Park. This is where the whitewater starts. After more than 30 exhilarating rapids, we’ll arrive at the northern tip of Lake Powell, and take out near the former Hite Marina.

Sample Itinerary

The night before your trip:

Please meet at our Green River, Utah, warehouse for a 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time pre-trip meeting. You’ll meet your guides, receive your waterproof bags and instructions on how best to pack them, and have time to purchase last minute items from our store (look over our packing checklist for a list of such items). Please consider dropping off any personal beverages (specialty sodas, beer, wine, etc.) at this time so that we can pack them into our coolers.

Day 1:

We’ll meet you back at our Green River headquarters the next morning at the time determined during the pre-trip meeting. It’s a 90-minute ride to the put-in, east along the base of the Book Cliffs, then south toward Moab. Hop in an inflatable kayak or onto a stand-up paddle board (SUP) for some exercise, or settle in on a raft. We’ll lunch on a sandbar and maybe take a short afternoon hike to an exposed petrified wood boneyard. Look up high to wave to visitors at Dead Horse Point State Park.

Day 2:

Morning sun makes the walls glow like red gold. Listen for the descending song of the canyon wren, or paddle your SUP along the shore in search of otters and great blue herons. The Colorado meanders peacefully in this section. Swim alongside the rafts or lounge under an umbrella; the afternoon may provide the opportunity to hike to thousand-year-old rock structures built by the Fremont Culture. Learn to spot granaries (ancient food storage structures) on the cliff walls as we continue downstream.

Day 3:

Today we’ll reach the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers, believed by some cultures to be the center of the universe. Swim through the line where the two rivers meet and buckle up your personal flotation device! Rapids are just a few miles ahead. Just below the confluence, enjoy a view of the Doll House, a collection of freestanding, sandstone columns: one of the remotest regions of the Maze District of Canyonlands.

Day 4:

Wake to the sound of nature’s white noise machine: rapids! After a hearty breakfast, we’ll do a whitewater safety talk, tighten our PFDs, and prepare to get splashed. We’ll stop and scout a few of the biggest rapids, giving plenty of time for the suspense to build. Hold on tight for the Big Drops: Little Niagara and Satan’s Gut! We may stop and look at some historic inscriptions or explore one of the many side canyons. We’ll roll into our camp for the night along with a wave of endorphins, and celebrate our successful runs with a riverside feast.

Day 5:

After a few last rapids, the water calms again, and the canyon walls rise, smooth and majestic. We’re now officially in Lake Powell, although depending on the reservoir level, it may still feel like a river for a long distance. When the reservoir is high, we’ll get an assist from our “Seldom Seen” motorboat. We’ll float under the Hite Narrows Bridge and pull over just beyond the mouth of the Dirty Devil River. A two-hour drive brings us back to Green River. Our expected time of arrival back at our headquarters is from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Wilderness river trips are changeable by nature. Please understand that this is only a sample itinerary. You may have the opportunity to do all of the above activities, or you may have a variety of other memorable and exciting experiences. Holiday’s motto is “Go With the Flow”, and we encourage you to arrive with an open mind, a flexible attitude, and an appetite for adventure!

Group Photo on the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon

Cataract Canyon trips are true wilderness adventures, and itineraries vary widely depending on weather, the desires of each group, campsite availability, and the need to be courteous to other groups on the river. This is a sample itinerary intended to provide one example of a five-day trip through Cataract.

In July and August, we lengthen our Cataract Canyon trips to six days to account for slower river flows. If you are on a six-day Cataract Canyon trip, you can expect a similar itinerary to this one; however, with lower late-season river flows and an extra day to play, you may take some extra time in the upper canyon exploring archaeological sites or side canyons and reach the confluence sometime on the fourth day. You may dive into some whitewater rafting on day four but likely will spend that night nestled between mighty rapids in the heart of Cataract Canyon. Run the Big Drops on the fifth day and finish up on day six by exploring the upper reaches of Narrow Canyon on our way to the Hite boat-ramp and the “real” world.

Reviews

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Holiday River Expeditions

Average rating:

107 reviews

Pamela Leverett

Oct 5, 2021

by Pamela Leverett

Thank you & the guides SO, SO much for the awesome Vegan meals they prepared for me!

Linda Port

Oct 5, 2021

by Linda Port

I found the staff very helpful and patient (I believe it was Karen) as I had to follow up a few times on things I wanted more information or even bigger - the fact I forgot to initially order my tent and sleeping bag. Everyone was so friendly and lovely.

Not only did it meet my expectation but EXCEEDED my expectations in every way. I really had no idea what to expect and it was more than I could ever have imagined. It was phenomenal in every way. As someone who only had done this once before - in Tennessee - all the guides (Justin, Brin, Garrison, and Brayden) were very caring and made sure I was comfortable every step of the way. I couldn't think of a better group to be with during this adventure. And they can cook!!!

Robert Port

Oct 5, 2021

by Robert Port

This was a wonderful experience. The guides were great and very knowledgeable about the river and the history of the area. The food was great. And we were lucky to have a great group that got along well. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Mark Arens

Oct 5, 2021

by Mark Arens

Thank you so much for an amazing trip on the Cataract Canyon. What an incredible, remarkable, and memorable experience!!

The river and the giant canyons were wonderful all by themselves, but your team made them even better! Every one of us loved our guides! They were professional, caring, informative, and excellent in so many ways.

From the first song of the morning, a vocal trio invited us to start each day as they sang, “Hot Coffee” to the very end of each day, our guides made us feel special. They kept us safe over the rapids, made every meal amazing, laughed readily, and shared their knowledge of the river and its history to make the trip come alive.

I’ve been all over the world on a hundred adventures, and I would rate this as one of the best trips of my life.

Thank you so much!

Mark Arens

Sandra Gareton

Oct 5, 2021

by Sandra Gareton

I can’t say enough good things about our guides. Susan, Em, Ellie, Erika, Mary, and Syd shared so much information about the history, geology, environmental concerns, and the night sky while working so hard to make sure our trip was spectacular. Campsites were awesome and the food they prepared was fantastic.

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